This is a 2000 New York Times series on obesity. It includes analyses on the fat epidemic among American children, reportage that debunks the myth that a person cannot be fit and fat, and looks at fraudulent marketing in the weight-loss industry.

This study, published October 1999 in The Journal of the American Medical Association, indicates that obesity increased from 12% of the U.S. population in 1991 to 17.9% in 1998. The summary notes that "sweeping changes in U.S. society have contributed to weight gain" and calls for making weight maintenance and reduction a higher public health priority. Maps accompanying the study show the spread of obesity by region and tables summarize the obesity epidemic's growth in different age groups.

This site offers good fundamentals on what is obesity, including how it is
measured (listing weight-for-height tables and Body Mass Index (BMI)), its
causes, who should be treated, and additional research and readings. It's
produced by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health.

A collection of statistics on overweight prevalence among Americans broken down
by age groups. Numbers are provided by the National Center for Health
Statistics of the Center for Disease Control.